If you’re an ecommerce entrepreneur then you’ve likely already experienced the difficulties which come with managing your store’s inventory. It’s often a time consuming and laborious process, but it’s an essential task for ecommerce entrepreneurs. You may feel that you’re better off dedicating your valuable time to tasks which will help you make more sales, like optimizing your Facebook advertising campaigns, but poor inventory management can lead to a bad experience for your customers, which will stagnate your store’s growth.

Thankfully, inventory management software is available and can help ecommerce entrepreneurs a lot with managing their store’s inventory. We believe that you’ll be much more successful with your store when you have less things to worry about, so we’ve created this article to give you an overview of the best inventory management software for small businesses.

What is Inventory Management Software?

Inventory management software is a computer program which is dedicated to making sure that your store’s stock levels, orders, sales, and deliveries are all logged and in order. It’s an essential tool for ecommerce entrepreneurs who are looking to grow their stores and make them even more successful.

If you’ve created your ecommerce store using one of the most popular ecommerce platforms, like Shopify, then you’ll have the opportunity to integrate inventory management software into your store by using their App store. There is a wide selection of apps which you’ll be able to use for your ecommerce store, which come at varying prices.

Before we go over our picks for the best inventory management software we’ll cover the benefits which inventory management software will bring to your store.

Why Do I Need Inventory Management Software?

Ecommerce entrepreneurs will see much more success with their stores if they can focus on the tasks which truly matter– growing their stores and making more sales. Managing your store’s inventory can take up a large chunk of the available time which you have to focus on generating more revenue.

If you use inventory management software then you’ll find that you have much more time to spend on tasks which contribute to the overall growth of your store instead. Using inventory management software to help run your ecommerce store will also ensure that your customers have the best user experience possible.

If a potential customer places an order for a product which you don’t currently have stocked, you’ll need to inform them of this. You’ll need to refund this customer, and it’s likely that they won’t visit your store in the future. Situations like this can give your store a bad reputation, especially when you’re just starting your ecommerce journey. If you’re also running paid advertisements for your store then this will result in a waste of valuable funds– if customers are being drawn to your store for a specific product which is out of stock then you’ll receive no money from them, whilst you’re paying for their traffic.

What Is the Best Inventory Management Software?

Now that we’ve highlighted the necessity for inventory management software for ecommerce businesses, it’s time we go over some of the best options which are available. All of the inventory management software which we’ll be discussing below is available on Shopify’s App Store, so you’ll be able to integrate it into your own ecommerce store with ease.

Stocky Inventory Management

Stocky’s inventory management software is perfect for helping ecommerce entrepreneurs plan out the necessary amount of stock which they’ll need in order to ensure that their customers always have access to their favourite items. It’s an extremely useful tool which will remove the guesswork that’s usually involved with ordering inventory for your store– this adds stability to your ecommerce business, which is essential.

Stocky’s inventory management software also indicates any variants of your products which are currently out of stock, and notifies you so you can quickly remedy any issues. Your orders will also be synced automatically with Shopify, which creates a streamlined experience for both you and your customers. Stocky’s pricing plan is fair, starting at $29 / month and increasing to $99 / month depending on the size of your inventory.

Notify Me

Notify Me is the best free inventory management software for small businesses. The software will automatically send you email reminders for any of your products which become out of stock, which allows you to reduce the time spent managing your stock lists. One of the reasons why this is the best free inventory management software is how easy it is to install into your store. Simply click the ‘GET” button on Shopify’s App Store and it’ll the Notify Me app will take care of the rest. It’s the must-have inventory management software for small businesses.

ShipHero

ShipHero is a great tool which will allow you to handle your store’s inventory, shipping, and returns all without ever leaving their platform. You’ll also be able to take advantage of their fully dedicated customer support team who can help you out with any questions or concerns that you have, whilst offering hands-on-help with installing and making the most out of this inventory management software.

ShipHero is recommended for ecommerce businesses which are already generating high levels of revenue, as their pricing plan is quite expensive at $199 / month. However, they do offer a 14 day free trial which will be able time to decide if you enjoy using their service, and would like to continue taking advantage of their inventory management software.

Stock Sync

StockSync is one of the most popular inventory management software on Shopify’s app store. The pricing plan for this tool ranges from $5 / month up to $100 / month, based on the total number of products which are available in your store. If you’re running a small business with few products then this inventory management software is perfect for you, as it’ll be much cheaper for you to use. You’ll increase the efficiency of your ecommerce store’s processes if you take advantage of StockSync, which will allow you to focus on growing your business and generating more revenue.

Orderhive Inventory Management

Orderhive’s tool allows you to automatically update your inventory across all of your Shopify stores. They also have a unique feature which estimates shipping rates and print labels for a variety of shipping services including FedEx, DHL, and USPS. Orderhive’s inventory management software starts at $49.99 per month, and may increase depending on the number of orders which your store receives. This fluctuating pricing plan is in place to ensure that you’re paying a fair price depending on the amount of resources which are required to ensure that your ecommerce business is properly managed.

Running Your Business With Dropshipping

If you’re an ecommerce entrepreneur who uses a dropshipping business model for your online store then you’ll rarely have to worry about managing your store’s inventory, as you won’t be holding any in the first place.

Dropshipping works by ordering your products straight from a supplier, and then the supplier sends your order straight to your customer’s door. You’ll never hold any inventory, as you’ll only source products from your suppliers once your customer has paid for it. It’s the perfect solution for ecommerce entrepreneurs who don’t want to deal with the hassle of inventory management.

If you’re interested in running your business with a dropshipping business model then give Oberlo a try– it’s the leading platform for finding and selling ecommerce products without stocking any inventory. Our product is already used by more than 175,000 merchants worldwide, who have sold more than over 85 million products. If you’d like to try out dropshipping today then sign up for Oberlo— it’s free!

Manage Your Inventory With Ease

If you’re running your own ecommerce business then it’s critical that your store’s inventory is being managed properly. We’ve covered a variety of inventory management software in this article, so take some time to think about which option is best for your business. If you think that using inventory management software is going to use up valuable resources which you could use to grow your ecommerce business then try out dropshipping. It’ll be easier to manage, and you’ll never need to worry about stock lists again.

If you’ve got any further questions about inventory management software let us know in the comments section– we’re happy to help!